Tag Archives: new-hampshire
600-pound swordfish harpooned by New Hampshire fishermen
The fishing community is buzzing with news that a 600-pound, 14-foot swordfish was caught by commercial fishermen off the coast of New Hampshire. Ted Sutton, 80, of Lincoln, is best known as a ski racing official but he also helps his son, Tom, who runs the Julia G. out of Hampton Harbor. On Sunday, Sutton and Capt. Jeff Ouellette were on their way to Jeffreys Ledge when they saw the swordfish. They have a permit to catch these fish, so Ouellette harpooned it. “It was very exciting because I have been out there fishing for 40 years and I have never seen one before,” Sutton said. “Everyone in the whole fishing community has been calling and are as excited as us about it.” >click to read<09:41
New Hampshire fishermen face declining prices
Local commercial fishermen say the price per pound they earn for their catch has dropped in recent years as their industry continues to struggle financially.Fishermen say they have been selling their fish at prices several cents per pound less than in years past, citing strict catch quotas, a decline in businesses that buy their fish and a rise in imported fish as causes for the drop in their earnings. Hampton fisherman David Geothel said prices for small American plaice, a species of flounder on which he relies in the face of strict cod catch limits, have dropped from $1.40 to $1.50 per pound in previous years to between 40 and 70 cents per pound now. >click to read< 21:55
Conservationist intends to sue five states over whale entanglements, including individual lobstermen
A noted North Atlantic right whale conservationist who is suing Massachusetts officials over the licensing of commercial lobster pot gear has said he intends to do the same thing in five other states starting with Maine. The Maine DNR is killing and injuring endangered whales and sea turtles in U.S. coastal waters from its licensing of lobster pot gear, and gill nets, said Richard “Max” Strahan of Whale Safe USA, which is based in Cambridge. >click to read<08:18
Facing a Dying Industry, Two Young New Hampshire Fishermen Head Out Anyway
It’s a feeling many in today’s economy can relate to: starting out in a career is just harder than it used to be. One group that’s very familiar with that idea is commercial fishermen. In New Hampshire, dozens of boats used to head out every morning to fish for cod and haddock. Today that number is down to just a handful. For our series The Balance, which looks at the cost of living in New Hampshire, Jason Moon tells us about two young fishermen who, in spite of the odds, are trying to live a vision of an iconic New England profession. >click here to read< 08:40
Last of the fishermen: NH’s ground fishing captains fading away
Dozens of commercial fishing boats were once docked along the New Hampshire coastline and trawled through the Gulf of Maine to drag in thousands of pounds of cod. Today, only about five commercial ground fishermen remain active in New Hampshire. And as they continue to struggle with strict regulations on cod and other species of groundfish, many question the future of groundfishing in the Granite State. One active ground fisherman, Neil Pike, said “there ain’t one.” He lives in Seabrook and fishes out of Hampton Harbor where he said there used to be 13 other fishing vessels docked next to his. Now, he said there are three and he owns two of them. NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard said strict quotas are necessary to bring cod stocks back and give the fish a better chance of making a comeback. Central to many of the fishermen’s frustrations is their belief that NOAA’s stock assessments are incorrect. New Hampshire fishermen have said NOAA stock assessments do not line up with the amount of cod they see on the water each day. Some captains claim NOAA is out to squash small boat fishermen to make it easier for them to manage federal waters. Read the story here 08:26
Number of NH groundfishermen continues to decline
The number of New Hampshire boats fishing for groundfish has continued to decline, with only five full-time groundfishermen left in the state. Fishermen have been catching haddock, cod and flounder off the coast and selling it in New Hampshire for centuries. But fishermen said that quotas and regulations over the past decade that are meant to protect groundfish have made it almost impossible to make a living. The regulations have also affected other fishermen. At Tuesday’s regional meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council, some complained they were unable to catch herring to use as bait because they were in the same area as regulated groundfish. Video, Read the rest here 13:08
Maine shrimp – get ’em while they’re hot!
Thanks to a study being conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, four trawlers and two trappers have been selected to collect samples of northern shrimp from the Gulf of Maine. Each participating trawler is required to conduct five research trips in one region, and is being compensated $500 per trip. Each would be allowed to sell up to 1,800 pounds of shrimp per trip. Good article! Read the article here 17:30
Northern Shrimp fishery could re-open on a limited basis
Members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission are taking comments from a series of public hearings and compiling them into recommendations. The shrimp fishery closed in 2013 and has yet to reopen because of concerns about shrimp population levels. Fishermen from harvested Maine shrimp prior to the collapse of the fishery.
Some of the guidelines being considered include establishing a system of state-by-state quotas and shortening the season to only 90 days. Video, Read the rest here 11:31
Sign of the times? No. Government Ineptitude. New Hampshire Fishing fleet up for sale
What fishermen are reporting is that “there are cod all over,” But what fishermen see is not given credence by federal regulators, Goethel said, so yesterday he participated in a research catch in the Gulf of Maine conducted by Dr. Lisa Kerr of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. “We did a research project that allotted seven days to catch 50 codfish, because the regulators said there’s no cod out there,” Goethel said. “I caught 2,500 pounds of cod in an hour. It’s very frustrating for fishermen, given what we see in the ocean and what we’re told isn’t there by our government officials.” Read the rest here 03:36
UPDATED – New Hampshire’s small commercial fishing fleet is reeling – at odds with NOAA over cod reductions
“The fishermen vehemently dispute this latest assessment,” said David Goethel, captain of the F/V Ellen Diane out of Hampton Harbor. He’s served on the New England Fisheries Management Council and fished for more than two decades, and said the new measures may put him out of business. “It’s a completely idiotic program,” he said. “It is intended to kill fish and kill fishermen.” Read the rest here 09:09 and On the Seacoast, cod fishing blues read it here 10:23
New Hampshire’s beleaguered commercial fishing industry – $2M in federal funds
New Hampshire’s 400-year-old commercial fishing fleet, made up of small boats, has worked under increasing federal regulations and restrictions since the Magnuson-Stevens Act was passed in 1976. It limits the catch and species of fish that can be caught, as well as when and where fisherman can fish. A 2010 amendment to the act introduced the “catch share” limit system for groundfish that hit small independent boat fishermen, like those in New Hampshire, the hardest. Read more here 08:52
Ruling rejects Massachusetts and New Hampshire challenges over science, economic impact
“In our brief, we cited Justice (Antonin) Scalia’s view that an amount of deference is a permission slip for an arrogation of power,” said Brian Rothschild, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, which joined the state of Rhode Island in filing amicus briefs on behalf of the plaintiffs. “The problem is that in cases like this, judges are left with really difficult technical decisions. That’s the reason for the deference.” Read more here 07:35
New Hampshire, Mass, Seek Applicant’s for New England Fishery Management Council
Federal Register – SBA: Massachusetts Disaster #MA-00056 Declaration of Economic Injury
This is a notice of an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) declaration for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dated 11/01/2013. Incident: Commercial Fishery Failure. Incident Period: 05/01/2013 through 04/30/2014. Effective Date: 11/01/2013. EIDL Loan Application Deadline Date: 08/01/2014.
The following areas have been determined to be adversely affected by the disaster:Show citation box Primary Counties: Essex, Plymouth. Contiguous Counties: Massachusetts: Barnstable, Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk. New Hampshire: Hillsborough, Rockingham. more@federalregister 10:58
Fishing aid package eliminated by U.S. House panel
The decision, made Monday night, was expected by many, but it leaves Gloucester, New Bedford and lesser groundfishing ports without the hope or expectation of short-term financial aid even as the commercial fleets continue to consolidate in the face of reduced catch limits and potentially catastrophic constrictions in opportunity looming in the 2013 fishing year. Read more
Senate Republicans seek to remove funds to assist fishermen from a Hurricane Sandy relief package.
Battle brews over disaster relief for Maine, New England fisheries
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., pointed out that five states in the middle of the U.S. received nearly $40 billion in funding for 68 federally designated disasters between 2004 and 2011. “We have more than five states asking for $150 million,” Kerry said in response to an earlier attempt to separate out the fisheries money. “I will just say point blank: This legislation is not going to pass without the inclusion of fisheries money.” Read more
